Apple initiates mass discontinuation of boxed retail software

Further emphasizing the Mac App Store as the preferred place to get new software for Mac OS X, Apple on Wednesday discontinued a slew of boxed software products.

Virtually all of Apple's retail software was declared "end of life" on Wednesday in a notification sent to resellers. Products that will no longer be available in a boxed form include 'iWork '09, Aperture 3, iLife '11, Apple Remote Desktop, and various Jam Packs for GarageBand.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the launch of the Mac App Store had hastened Apple's plans to cease the sale of boxed software in the company's retail stores. It was said that boxed software takes up a large amount of shelf space in the company's retail stores, and software is less profitable than devices like the iPhone or iPad.

Apple also moved this year to drastically reduce the number of games made available at its stores, whittling the number down from 32 to 8. Customers are instead advised that they can download titles for Mac OS X from the Mac App Store.

Apple also cut some products from its stores to clear shelf space, including printers and scanners. But unlike the software, which has been removed completely, the hardware options are available for sale if a customer requests them.

The full list of applications declared "end of life" by Apple on Wednesday to resellers is included below:

I have plenty of install CDs that are still good. One uses a CD install disk maybe once and it gets put away. Why would they fail?

Meanwhile, I have a client moving into a new facility of 50,000 square feet outside of Petaluma, CA. All they can get is a T1 line at 3Mbps. The Internet availability is pathetic in this country. Give me a disk. I can't wait days to download and install Lion on five Macs.

Oh boy, Apple's starting to move away from the optical drive now. And it looks like they've got a half decent means of doing it for most customers. Can't say I'll really miss them, though I'll want to keep some kind of option around on a computer for ripping music.

How is one supposed to buy Jam Packs now? Are they available on the App Store?

Not at this time. Also, the link in Garageband » Learn about Jam Packs links to http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/jam-packs.html but is now a dead page on Apple's site. Makes me think Jam Packs are going away or there is an update to Garageband that will put Jam Packs within the app much like Lesson Store.

I have plenty of install CDs that are still good. One uses a CD install disk maybe once and it gets put away. Why would they fail?

Meanwhile, I have a client moving into a new facility of 50,000 square feet outside of Petaluma, CA. All they can get is a T1 line at 3Mbps. The Internet availability is pathetic in this country. Give me a disk. I can't wait days to download and install Lion on five Macs.

1) Technically 3Mbps is two DS-1(T1 lines) and is slightly over 3Mbps. This is a solid connection and the not the shared, burst connections of consumer DSL, cable, or cellular.

2) Lion is 3.6 gigabytes which is 29491.20 megabits. Divide that by 3 equals 9,830.40 seconds; divide that by 60 equals 163.84 minutes; divide that by 60 equals is under 3 hours.

3) Now that you have the file you can follow any one of the many simple instructions to create a bootable installer.

Retail stores have had 2 options for an office suite. Microsoft Office, or iWork. While iWork can be purchased from the App store, when a sales person is selling a machine, they are likely going to recommend an office suite for you. Your boxed choices, that the sales rep could make money on, were iWork or Office. Now, the only choice they have to push is Office. Once someone buys Office, they have little incentive to shell out extra cash at the app store for iWork pieces. This is a likely step backwards for adoption of the Apple software, even if only by a few points.

Not a fan. I know it's the 'way of the future' but we are too reliant on the internet and this software distribution model. I prefer to have the software on a format that is unlikely to fail.

I thought the same when music downloads first came along - absolutely hated the idea of not owning something physical.

Once I got over that, it's given me no problems at all. In practice, my music is much safer now than it was, in that I have it on the hard drive of my Mac, and the Time Machine drive, whereas I only used to have one copy of a very damageable CD.

The thing I will miss is mindless browsing of the shelves in a software shop, but I'll get over that as well.

But it is much easier to replace a CD than the internet. Plus, after you use the CD, put it in a sleeve and file it safely away. How is the disc going to fail exactly?

If it's a burned disc instead of a stamped retail disc, the dye degrades over time making it unreadable. All discs of course have their usual failure points: scratches, unreadable sectors, laser error, etc...

But it is much easier to replace a CD than the internet. Plus, after you use the CD, put it in a sleeve and file it safely away. How is the disc going to fail exactly?

Well, considering you can redownload apps bought on the MAS, short of Apple going out of business, I don't see how your filing away a CD (which still degrades, even when filed away) is safer than redownloading from Apple's servers.

You guys didn't post the full info, and I don't think you're interpreting it right.

The full email from Apple didn't say it was discontinuing the boxed versions, just no longer stocking them in brick and mortar stores. They specifically said that the software is still available at the Apple ONLINE Store. Not the app store, the online store which is store.apple.com. And sure enough, all the boxed software like SL and iWork is still available there - you can still buy them, you just need to order online and have the boxes mailed to you.

They also specifically mentioned Logic, it will still be sold in boxes in apple stores and other resellers.